Vending machine



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 m 1 :ii a

Dec. 19, 1939.

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zw INVEA TOR Dec. 19, 1939. w A GENTRY 2,183,808

VENDING MACHINE Filed May 27, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V "TOR.

Patented Dec. 1939 UNETED STAE'ES PATENT OFFIQE.

VENDING MACHINE Walter Alexander Gentry, San Antonio, Tex., assignor of five-twelfths to R. B. Sheep and onesixth to Henry Meckel, both of San Antonio, Tex.

Application May 27, 1937, Serial No. 144,999

1 Claim. (Cl. 312-63) My invention relates to an improvement in a Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 in Fig.1. means for vending or dispensing containers pref- Fig. 6 is a partial exterior View showing a lockerably of cylindrical form, and relating particuing means. larly to the vending of lubricating oil but not Fig. 7 is an isometric view of the holding and 5 confined to that type or shape, from chutes or delivery lever.

compartments, locked and protected from pilfer- Fig. 8 is a partial view of a modification of the ing. locking means.

The object of this invention is to provide a Fig. 9'is an enlarged view of a lock rod and series of containers, or vertically arranged chutes, associated mechanism. for sealed cans having a delivery means manual- A number of small sealed cans I and large 10 iv operable whereby a single can is delivered at sealed cans 2, which in the pra application one time, and an inter-operable retaining means of my invention is preferably r he nu ber for the cans in storage and a locking means to contained in the carton, are placed respectively in said storage to prevent pilfering. chutes 3 and 4, which are shown of metal con The further object of this invention is to pror11 0 bu which ay e of y Other S t- 15 vide a means whereby cans of various sizes and le m terial. contents placed in storage in their proper comthere e Several grades qualities of O partments or chutes and locked therein against Which are in use in various automotive vehicles, pilfering and means for unlocking and a, means it is preferable to keep these various qualities in for delivering a can individually from said chutes ep a hu and these m y b arr and registering the nurnber of cans delivered. cording to the grades s w a ord o The unwarranted use of empty, marked barrels the size of the cans l and 2. While I have ShOWIl or containers of high grade lubricating oil, by two sizes of cans, other sizes may be added to the producers of an inferior oil, has led the producers group as necessary desired the assembly of the higher grade lubricants to provide cans for y b d of e e, a y Combination Of 5 their product, sealed at the refinery, and plainly Sizes. s Preferred. marked with the quality and grade of the 1 mm- In Fig. 3 I have shown a horizontal section with msmall cans I, arranged in a series of vertical rows There are at the present time in general use, in C u e 3 and large cans 2 in chute 4; Chu e 4 four grades of lubricating oil based on the viscosy ve ne 01' more Vertical rows. Chutes 3 ity qualifications, as applicable to the different and 43 a oca ed aterally and lend themselves engine requirements. These four grades follow t0 a Sp t d g Opera io in which the fore and specifications of the Society of Automotive Engiaft adjacent p i s are Welded together, w h neers and are known as Nos. 20, 30, 40, and 50 With e laterally disposed brace bars 5, or ::r. t t prefix s d for convenience in equivalent back, form a rigid structure. A botretailing are marketed in one quart and five quart tom W c is St pped in the case of a number sizes, and generally packed in cartons of twenty of vertical rows, is rigidly fastened. in the bottom four and four cans respectively. of chutes 3 and 4. On the foreward side of I have provided in my invention a retaining chutes 3 and l an inwardly projecting bead I :in means, in which a full carton or better may be completes a hollow rectangle of said chutes 3 and 4D stored, and a selective means whereby a can of i, leaving a center opening 8 in the front of said any grade or size may be withdrawn from said chutes 3 and 4. storage, together with a visible means of check- An observation glass window 9 is placed ading the stored stock. iacent to the inwardly projecting bead 'l and held 4' The following, together with two drawings, in place by an exterior frame II]. The observadescribe and illustrate this invention, and similar tion glass window 9 may be of one full piece characters indicate similar parts in the various covering the entire front of the chute assembly views: or this may be made in sections as shown in Fig. Fig. l is a front elevation. 3 with the spacer ll separating the various sec- Fig. 2 is an isometric projection of a portion of tions of observation glass window 9. For appearthe chutes. ance and for the purpose of clearly dividing the Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 in Fig. 1, showvarious chutes, vertical mullions l2 are placed in ing an arrangement of the cans in their respecexterior frame Ill as shown in Fig. l. The chute tive chutes. bottoms t and the exterior frame lil together Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4 in Fig. 1. with the construction of chutes 3 and 4 and the brace bars 5 give the assembly the necessary rigidity.

The cans I and 2 are placed, preferably from the top in their respective chutes 3 and 4, which have a running clearance between the exterior of the cans and the interior of the chutes. As the small sealed can IA is withdrawn from the chute the pressure of the cans above carry can IE to the position IA. The successive removals of the cans in the lower row impelled forward by contact with the angular surface 6A lowers the front vertical row above IC and as ID is dropped one diameter IE drops forward and assumes the position of ID. The can IF then rolls forward to the position of IE. This operation is continued upon the withdrawal of cans IA until the chute 3 has a reduced stock, which may be observed through the observation glass window 9. The same unloading procedure occurs in chute 4.

Figs. 7 and 4 and 5 illustrate the form and use of a combined holding and discharge lever I5 having on its forward end a handle I6 and on its rearward end an arcuately shaped pad I I having a tapered upper portion I8 for entering between two adjacent cans and a concave shaped pad I9 mounted on a shaft 20 and held in place by collars 2| rigidly attached to shaft 20 which is held in bearings 22.

Chutes 3 and 4 combined in a unit as shown in Fig. 2 are mounted in a supporting base 25 which consists of a rectangular housing having a face 26 and ends 21. The face 26 has on its upper portion a series of slots 28 through which the forward end I5A of lever I5 projects and operates in an arcuate manner about the axes of shaft 20. It is. desired to have a slight clearance between the lever end I5A and the edges of slot 28, and an enlarged opening 29 permits the passage of end Iii to the exterior of the housing 25.

The slot 28 is of sufficient length to allow the concave pad I9 to elevate, in an upwardly and forwardly arcuate movement, the can IA to a position IX in which the center of gravity of the can IA overturns the elevated can IA from the concave pad I 9 into a receiving trough 35.

During this upwardly and forwardly arcuate movement of the concave pad I9 about the axis of shaft 20 the arcuately formed pad I! contacts can IB and retains said can IB in its normal position until the upper edge of the tapered portion I8 is depressed below the bottom 63 of the bottom plate 6. It is desired that the space between the inclined portion 6A of the bottom 6, and the strip retainer 3| shall be slightly greater than the sum of the diameters of the cans retained therein, to allow the arcuate face I! to contact the next can without binding, and if desired the portion 53 of the bottom 6 may have a forward slope to accentuate the forward rolling motion of the can I.

At the time the can IB passes to position IA, against the strip retainer 3| in which position it is ready for the downward movement of handle I5 which will elevate the said can IA to the position IX and into trough 3B.

A series of hinged covers 24, attached to a forwardly extending projection 23 by hinges 23A, close the top of the receiving trough 35, except when raised by an outcoming can I or 2, or to take said can from the receiving trough 35. These hinged covers 24 are of sufficient width to allow a can I or 2 to be withdrawn through the opening made by the opened hinged cover 24, and operate individually and independently. A look rod 35 is hingedly attached to the forward edge of hinged cover 34 by pin 36 for a locking means as hereinafter described.

A locking means for the individual levers and the individual locked hinged covers is shown in Fig. 6. A look 45, preferably of the cylindrical type, is set in face 26 of the base 25, adjacent to slot 28, and on the internal cylinder is placed a double end lever having a lever locking pawl 46 and a hooked pawl 47. This double end lever may be rigidly fastened to the inner cylinder of the lock 45, or may have a slot and pin construction, to allow the key to be turned 360 for a turn of approximately of the double end lever. Upon turning the key in lock 45, the lever locking pawl 45 is turned under the end I5A of lever I5 and the hooked pawl 41 is turned into an eye 48, in the hinged locking rod 35, which is attached to the cover 24. On closing the cover 24, the lower end of the hinged locking rod enters the tapered hole 49 in the bracket 50, thus insuring the entrance of the hooked pawl 4'! into the eye 48. In the above I have described a double locking means, which may be used as described, or singly.

A modification of the locking means above described, in which the delivery means of each individual series of cans I and 2 is separately locked is shown in Fig. 8, in which a locking means for more than one or for all the delivery means is locked. A look bar 5|, operable in sliding bearings 52 held to the face 26, of base 25, by rivets or bolts 53, has on its under side projections 54 which pass under the lever end I5A of lever I5 and into the loop 48 of locking rod 35. A cylindrical or other lock 45, located at any convenient point, has on the rearward end of said cylinder a lever 55 connected to lock bar 5| by link 55, with a recessed hub and driving pin connection, as above described, for allowing a turn of 360 of the key, to allow withdrawal of said key, for a lever movement of approximately The hinged cover I 4 is locked by a lock I3 of the cylindrical type, a hasp and padlock or any other desirable locking means. By the use of these locking means the contents of the chutes are locked against pilfering of cans I and 2.

I have shown the chutes 3 and 4 in a vertical position, but I do not confine myself to a strictly vertical chute, but to consider a vertically disposed chute as one in which the upper end is raised above the lower or discharge end. In my experimental work I have found that there is no clogging or stoppage of the downward flow of cans, but I reserve the right to add a guiding strip to the side of chutes 3 and 4 to hold each vertical line of cans in position with delivery of the cans at the bottom of the chute from the second and succeeding rows into a position for delivery, when the forwardly disposed spares are empty.

A supporting base, with front 26 and sides 21, with delivery trough 30 attached thereto, contains the operating mechanism and supports the can holding structure. The front 26 has a series of openings 32, with doors 33 for ingress into the interior 25 of the supporting base. This interior 25 may be used for the storage of cartons or for any other purpose.

I have shown a locking means, including a lock 45, lock bar 45, and lock hook 41. I include in my invention a coin unlocking means in which the lock 45, is replaced by a conventional form of coin operated mechanism, for functioning for use in isolated locations.

In the above description and as shown on the III accompanying drawings, I have described a vending machine for the storage, display and vending of a series of cans of various sizes and containing a varying quality of material. While it is my intention to utilize this vending machine for lubricating oil, I do not confine my use to this particular commodity and it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the exact details of construction and arrangement of the different mechanical parts, as shown and described, since these may be varied, modified and rearranged in the further development or application of my invention to suit the specific requirements that may arise in such development and that such changes may be readily made without departing from the spirit of my invention, within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

In a dispensing cabinet having an article chute, an ejector for the chute and an open top trough for receiving the ejected articles; closure means for the trough comprising a hinged cover having a dependent rod with an aperture therein, operating means for the ejector comprising an oscillating lever pivoted in the cabinet below the trough and having a handle extending through a slot in the cabinet, locking means for the cover and lever comprising a lockable member movably carried by the cabinet, having projections adapted to simultaneously enter the aperture in the rod and to engage the edge of the lever and hold it against the end of the slot, whereby the cover is held closed and the lever is held against movement.

WALTER ALEXANDER GENTRY. 

